Feb 13, 2025 Story by: Editor
Early voting in North Carolina could see significant reductions if lawmakers approve a new bill introduced on Wednesday by state Rep. Wyatt Gable. The measure proposes cutting the early voting period from three weeks to just six days, ending on the Saturday before Election Day, and eliminating Sunday early voting altogether.
Early voting is the most widely used voting method in North Carolina, with over 4.1 million of the 5.7 million voters in the 2024 general elections casting their ballots before Election Day.
Data from previous elections indicates that early voters tend to lean slightly left, while those voting on Election Day are more likely to support Republican candidates. Republicans have long pushed to restrict early voting, particularly on Sundays, when many Black churches hold “souls to the polls” events encouraging congregants to vote after church services.
A similar effort to ban Sunday voting was part of a sweeping 2013 elections law passed by Republicans shortly after they gained control of the state government.
That law was later struck down as unconstitutional, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling that Republican lawmakers had used racial data to “target Black voters with almost surgical precision.” Gable, a 22-year-old Republican from Onslow County who was elected in November while attending East Carolina University, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
Republican officials have recently introduced multiple measures to restrict early and mail-in voting, including efforts to limit early voting locations in certain counties. However, after Hurricane Helene, Republican lawmakers temporarily eased voting restrictions in heavily conservative western North Carolina, where nearly all counties supported former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Meanwhile, the GOP has sought to change the structure of the state’s election boards, which are currently controlled by Democrats due to state law. Despite numerous court rulings and voter rejections, the legislature’s latest attempt to shift election administration power to Republicans passed in December 2024 but has been temporarily blocked in court. Source: WRAL News
